Adapting the way we talk may be wired-in
Study finds that humans undergo clear neurological changes depending on who they are speaking to
Putting on a “posh” telephone voice or speaking “Estuary English” has long been a source of ridicule in Britain’s class-obsessed society. But now a new scientific study has suggested that changing the way we talk when interacting with people from a different social class may be something that is out of our control. Researchers who monitored brain function found that subjects undergo clear neurological changes depending on who they are speaking to.
PUTTING on a posh telephone voice or speaking “Estuary English” has long been a source of ridicule in Britain’s class-obsessed society.
But now a new scientific study has suggested that changing the way we talk when interacting with people from a different social class may be something that is out of our control.
Researchers who monitored brain function among people from a wide range of backgrounds found that subjects undergo clear neurological changes depending on who they are speaking to.
Scientists at University College London, working in conjunction with colleagues at Yale University in the United States, succeeded in identifying important changes in the part of the brain that deals with speech and language.
Increases in activity in the left frontal lobe are thought to have developed i n order to help humans i dentify and overcome bias and prejudice when communicating.
It means that people with strong regional or working class accents have a tendency to speak more correctly when in mixed company, while members of the upper classes are more likely to tone down their accents when talking to those from a different background.
The study, which is published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, used 39 pairs of volunteers from a wide range of social backgrounds.
They were asked to talk to one another on a range of subjects, while headsets monitored brain activity by tracking blood flow and oxygenation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
The neurological shifts in this part of the brain are thought to help humans overcome linguistic and social barriers and help us regulate our behaviour in different settings.
Prof Joy Hirsch, of University College London, who co-authored the report, said: “For the first time, we have identified the neural mechanisms involved in social interactions between people of different backgrounds.”
She added: “I believe our findings offer a hopeful message. We know humans can have positive social encounters with others who are different. Now we have the neurobiological basis – our brains have apparently developed a frontal lobe system that helps us deal with diversity.”
Lead author Olivia Descorbeth, from Yale University, said: “We wanted to know if the brain responded differently when we talked to others of a different socioeconomic background ... now we know it does and we have a neurobiology that helps us navigate social differences.”
The scientists used a new technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy, which meant subjects were able to simply wear unobtrusive headsets. Previous studies involved MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), which required patients to lie down and keepstill, making conversation difficult.
The study backs previous evidence
‘Our brains have apparently developed a frontal lobe system that helps us deal with diversity’
suggesting the brain’s frontal lobe systems play a role in detecting bias.
But the often unconscious change in linguistic style and tone is thought to be evidence of the way humans try to adapt to avoid applying bias when interacting with others.
Participants taking part in the experiment were assigned random subjects to discuss, such as “What did you do last summer?” and “How do you bake a cake?” They were asked to talk to one another for around 12 minutes, and then their brain activity was analysed based on the socioeconomic data they had provided to the researchers.
The subjects were also matched in terms of age, race and gender in order to minimise any bias they might have based on those factors.
It is hoped the research will help scientists better understand how the human brain plays a part in altering social behaviour.
Researchers at University College, London have discovered that people adapt their accents depending on the class of the person they are talking to. Well, Lord love you. You don’t bloomin’ say, dontcha know, as Eliza Doolittle might have put it.
But we all know that the real issue is posh people trying to sound demotic, rather than the other way round. Politicians are always desperate to sound less plummy than they really are. A neutral RP accent used to be considered the best way to navigate the social minefield of the British class system, but no longer.
Not that it makes much difference. As Shaw said: “It is impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him.”